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Kids get head start on safety

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Published: May 17, 2001

RED DEER – After a semester of orienteering, rope climbing and hiking in outdoor education class, Robyn Peden and Melissa Kirbyson of Red Deer jumped at the chance to add first aid skills to their resumes.

“You can use it anywhere,” said Peden.

The Grade 8 students at River Glen School in Red Deer are part of a national initiative introducing young people to basic first aid. With sponsorship of $37,000 from the Farm Credit Corp., the students receive a full day of instruction from St. John Ambulance. About 1,500 students nationwide are expected to participate this spring. The program emphasizes farm safety and how to handle farm accidents.

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Students learn to perform CPR, help choking victims, stop heavy bleeding and other common incidents they may experience on the farm.

“This is the age to start involving children. They are open to learning and old enough to use it,” said FCC’s Janet Wightman.

National studies have shown that 67 percent of fatalities and 62 percent of hospitalizations of farm children are the result of farm machinery accidents.

Recent figures released by Alberta Agriculture’s farm safety program showed 22 people died on Alberta farms last year.

Three were children. A four year old fell from a tractor; a 10 year old died in an all-terrain vehicle rollover and a 14 year old was crushed in a gate.

The oldest victim was an 85-year-old man who died from burns sustained in a welding fire.

Last month, a nine-year-old boy was drowned in a sewage lagoon on a Hutterite colony near Raymond. He was a passenger in his father’s truck when the vehicle rolled backward and fell into the lagoon. The father escaped but was unable to rescue his son.

About the author

Barbara Duckworth

Barbara Duckworth

Barbara Duckworth has covered many livestock shows and conferences across the continent since 1988. Duckworth had graduated from Lethbridge College’s journalism program in 1974, later earning a degree in communications from the University of Calgary. Duckworth won many awards from the Canadian Farm Writers Association, American Agricultural Editors Association, the North American Agricultural Journalists and the International Agriculture Journalists Association.

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